Belfast, Northern Ireland, where the Time Framed Audiobook was produced.
Take a listen to some of the key scenes from Time Framed, the Audiobook.
High on SMARF
Bryan McPherson, EVP of Security for Pennfield Technologies attempts to interview a member of the 12th PGU — high on SMARF, the drug of choice in 2052 — about a missing person.
A Physics Lesson
World renown physicist, Julian Weisman, gives ghost hunter, Ed Swann, a lesson in quantum mechanics among other things and conjectures how physics and parapsychology may coincide.
The Visitation
Bryan McPherson, EVP-Security for Pennfield Technologies is sent on a mission to PHA 432B, a blighted public housing area set on the site of an abandoned strip mine, in pursuit of a missing person.
The Interrogation
In the year 2052, entrepreneur-genius, Jimmy Mashimoto-Pennfield, is interrogated by a police detective after a sexual encounter gone bad.
The Story Behind the Making of Time Framed, The Audiobook
An Unintended Consequence
I hesitated.
I had never anticipated Time Framed becoming an audio book and I had no experience whatsoever in producing one (although I’ve casted, directed and produced many an audio track for marketing purposes).
But as Time Framed got out into the market and started getting really good reviews from places like Kirkus and Online Book Reviews and Literary Titan, people started asking about the audiobook version. That was an emotional dilemma: on one level, I was flattered, people were actually asking for it; but on another level, how much would it cost?
Despite the cost obstacle, there was another really important reason to consider an audiobook: by nature, the book was long as it follows characters in two alternate universes. While feedback from readers told me that it read quickly, there was still a hurdle to overcome, about 654 of them. So I decided to take the plunge, see if an audiobook could be produced on a reasonable budget.
The first step was to cast a narrator, hopefully one with acting experience who could bring life to the characters. So I posted a short section of one of the chapters on an online voice casting site that I usually use in my “day job” and, believe it or not, I received 37 auditions. Most were very good. I narrowed it down to five or six and then I asked some of my friends and family members for my input. There were a few they all really, really liked, but all of them really, really liked one the most: Phillip Sacramento.
At first, when reviewing the audition tapes, I didn’t realize he was in Belfast, Northern Ireland (not that location makes any difference in this virtual world of ours), but when I found out and, of course, listening to his auditions, I was sure he was an American ex-pat living there.
But no.
The first time we had a discussion via Skype, I could tell he was a native. And ever since that first conversation, he’s astounded me with the range of voices — and, more importantly, the range of emotions — he can deliver so superbly.
So take a listen to the clips at the top of this page and, better yet, sign up to win a free copy of the audiobook when it’s out.
